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Alexandria Ingham is a professional writer. She predominately ghost-writes in various niches, including fitness, finance and technology Everything is fully researched and well-written. Under her own name, she writes in the technology, business, history and weight loss niches

5 Purchasing a Domain Name Tips: What Do You Need to Look For?

Once you’ve decided on your domain name, the task of getting it isn’t over. There are still many more decisions to make. The first time I purchased one, I was completely lost. The good news is that it will only get easier. Over time I’ve developed these tips for purchasing a domain name. These are the things you want to look for.

Shop Around for Your Domain Name

I may be with SiteGround for my hosting, but not all my domain names are through them. In fact, more often than not, I will buy my domain names from somewhere else. There are a few options, including GoDaddy and Namecheap.

Why opt for elsewhere for you domain? Well, it all comes down to the price really. I can usually find the same domain for a lot less elsewhere.

However, I also have the benefit of having my domain name separate to my hosting. Should something happen to my hosting, I don’t have to mess around with the domain name at the same time. Sometimes keeping elements of your business separate can be worthwhile.

Lock Your Domain Name in for a Few Years

Some domain names I will buy for two or three years at a time. Others I will only purchase for a year. It really depends on how confident I am about a domain and the prices concerned.

More often than not, you’ll find getting a domain for a few years in bulk will cost you less in the long term. This is great for domain names that are extremely popular, targeted well for your audience, and you know you’ll keep them the whole time.

If you’re not sure about whether you really want to continue with this venture of your business, a year is usually good.

What you should look for is the option to renew for more than one year afterwards. Once you’re happy with a domain name, you want to avoid the hassle of constantly renewing it.

Consider Getting the Other Extensions Too

You want the .com domain name as much as possible. If someone else already has it, you’ll want to consider looking for other domain name ideas. Purchasing a domain name with a different extension will lead to confusion for people. Most are likely to type .com at the end.

The only time I suggest a local domain is if your target audience is primarily local. I have a couple of .co.uk domain names because they market towards local individuals more than the world.

You can snap up the other extensions if you’d like. This is useful if you’re worried of people trying to compete with them. Just be aware that this is an extra business outgoing you’ll need to budget for. If you don’t have the money now, considering purchasing these domain names later.

Think About Private Registration

For an extra dollar or two a month, you can get private registration. I’ll tell you from experience that this can be worth the costs.

Private registration means that telemarketers can’t look up your address or phone number to get in touch regarding your domain name. They will try to sell you all sorts, including hosting, marketing, and website creation. The calls and emails tend to last for a week or so after buying your domain name from experience.

It’s not too hard to figure out when to ignore the phone calls, but why should you? Just get the private registration and you don’t have to deal with them at all!

Purchasing a Domain Name Before the Website Hosting

There’s nothing wrong with getting the domain name before you set up your website hosting or even before you really want a website. While companies like SiteGround and BlueHost can offer free domain names for a year, you will pay for hosting sometimes before you have the idea for your website in mind. You don’t want to waste the money, but you also don’t want to lose your perfect domain name.

Getting the domain name will help to prevent others from buying it. You can set up your business through social media and not worry about someone catching onto what you’re doing. There’s no need to worry about losing out and then having to change your branding at a later date.

If you do decide to get hosting with the free domain name (remember you’ll end up with the hosting company’s renewal rates if you do this) then you can always set up a landing page. Have that page direct individuals to your Facebook page or your store elsewhere online until you’re ready to create the website.

Who you purchase your domain name through is usually based on price. Don’t just look for the price right now, but the renewal rates afterwards. That way you always have the most cost-effective domain name and a great looking website.

Are you ready to start pitching? Don’t forget to download your FREE pitching checklist right here.

Alexandria Ingham is a professional writer. She predominately ghost-writes in various niches, including fitness, finance and technology Everything is fully researched and well-written. Under her own name, she writes in the technology, business, history and weight loss niches

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